Focusing on the argumentative, narrative, and descriptive style found in legal briefs and judicial opinions, this text should be a thought provoking examination of effective argumentation in law.

“This easy-to-follow guide is useful both as a general course of instruction and as a targeted aid in solving particular legal writing problems.” —Harvard Law Review Clear, concise, down-to-earth, and powerful—all too often, legal writing embodies none of these qualities. Its reputation for obscurity and needless legalese is widespread. For more than twenty years, Bryan A. Garner’s Legal Writing in Plain English has helped address this problem by providing lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this indispensable volume encourages legal writers to challenge conventions and offers valuable insights into the writing process that will appeal to other professionals: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. Accessible and witty, Legal Writing in Plain English draws on real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching. Trenchant advice covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting, and the book’s principles are reinforced by sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section. In this new edition, Garner preserves the successful structure of the original while adjusting the content to make it even more classroom-friendly. He includes case examples from the past decade and addresses the widespread use of legal documents in electronic formats. His book remains the standard guide for producing the jargon-free language that clients demand and courts reward. “Those who are willing to approach the book systematically and to complete the exercises will see dramatic improvements in their writing.” —Law Library Journal

Guthrie's Guide to Better Legal Writing focuses on communicating more effectively in e-mail, letters, memos, blog posts, client updates, and social media, with some pointers on contractual drafting and written advocacy. The second edition incorporates significant new material based on reader queries.

From a master teacher and writer, a fully revised and updated edition of the results-oriented approach to legal writing that is clear, that persuades—and that WINS. More than almost any profession, the law has a deserved reputation for opaque, jargon-clogged writing. Yet forceful writing is one of the most potent weapons of legal advocacy. In this new edition of Writing to Win, Steven D. Stark, a former lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, who has inspired thousands of aspiring and practicing lawyers, applies the universal principles of powerful, vigorous prose to the job of making a legal case—and winning it. Writing to Win focuses on the writing of lawyers, not judges, and includes dozens of examples of effective (and ineffective) real-life legal writing—as well as compelling models drawn from advertising, journalism, and fiction. It deals with the challenges lawyers face in writing, from organization to strengthening and editing prose; offers incisive ways of improving arguments; addresses litigation and technical writing in all its forms; and covers the writing attorneys must perform in their daily practice, from email memos to briefs and contracts. Each chapter opens with a succinct set of rules for easy reference. With new sections on client communication and drafting affidavits, as well as updated material throughout, Writing to Win is the most practical and efficacious legal-writing manual available.

Topics in this law school text include a section on writing law school and bar examinations, amplified material on sentence structure and organization, and drafting principles. The book is equally suited for use in courses that concentrate on brief-writing, emphasize formal legal documents, or concentrate on the writing of memoranda or papers similar to law review comments. Also includes chapters on forcefulness, arranging words for emphasis, Opinions, and The Jurisdictional statement.

First published in 2003, Writing for the Legal Audience guides lawyers, paralegals, and law students through sensible, practical advice for writing to a dozen legal audiences, from supervisors to appellate judges and from clients to opposing counsel. Each chapter focuses on a different audience for legal writing and presents three concrete recommendations for satisfying that audience. The recommendations are amply supported with explanations, references to the leading experts, and numerous before-and-after examples. The second edition is thoroughly revised, with new tips, new examples, and up-to-date advice for producing clear, readable, effective legal writing. In addition, Schiess has added a new chapter, "Writing for the Screen Reader," that offers advice for preparing legal documents aimed at readers who will encounter the text electronically on a computer, tablet, or handheld device.